DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from the applicant's Description) Key insights into signaling pathways have been gained from study of control of spatial and temporal patterning and morphogenesis in both invertebrate and vertebrate models, and from study of dysregulation of these pathways in disease. Given that nearly one-quarter of the genome is predicted to encode signaling proteins and that many pathways use made common intermediates, it is likely that many of the proteins will be involved in regulation and integration of these signals. Recent findings suggest that development is guided by multiple levels of cooperation among different signaling pathways which govern competence of cells to respond to a second signal, with both direct and indirect cross-talk providing additional levels of control. The Conference on Integration of Signaling Pathways in Development will focus on the latest advances in understanding developmental pathways involving Notch, Hedgehog, Wnt, members of the TGF-beta superfamily, FGF and EGF, with emphasis on new levels of signal integration among these pathways.